Castlevania: AI of Sorrow
by Cronosonic
Summary: The year is 2037. Soma Cruz and Mina Hakuba attend a demonstration of Dr. Light's robots at their high school. And before they know it, Dr. Wily tries to take over the world! Can Soma and Mega Man defeat the Robot Masters and stop Wily's schemes?
1. The Lecture

_**Author's Notes: **_Of all the things I do, I end up starting a new fic. I should really figure out my priorities.

Anyway, this came to me out of the idea that the Mega Man classic games take place in 20XX, while the Castlevania Sorrow games take place in 2035 and 2036. I think you'll get the idea from here.

* * *

_Castlevania: AI of Sorrow_

**Chapter 1: The Lecture**

"Good morning, Tokyo! It's a beautiful day today, with a forecast of moderate temperatures and clear skies. As well, for today's events, the Nobel Prize-winning robotics expert Dr. Light will be demonstrating his creations and giving a lecture on robotics at-"

The white-haired teenager placed his left hand on his alarm clock, switching off said alarm. Well, after his fingers fumbled to find the switch. His eyes slowly opened, his pupils adjusting to the light shining in from the window. Despite just waking up, he still felt tired. He slowly sat up, yawning, taking in the information the radio had just presented him. The demonstration, as it happened, was happening today, at his high school, no less. He had never seen a Light robot in person, before. But why didn't he feel excited? To him, this just felt... Mundane. He had seen far more fantastical things.

The year is 2037. This boy's name? Soma Cruz. Two years ago, he went to see an eclipse with his childhood friend Mina, and ended up in Dracula's castle. There, he discovered that he was Dracula's reincarnation. With the help of his friends, he was able to prevent himself from becoming the Dark Lord. A year ago, he was targeted by an organisation who wanted to bring about a new Dark Lord. Once again, he escaped that fate. Both times, he wielded the Power of Dominance, and so many weapons, to accomplish this.

Of course, you probably already knew that.

Soma's routine that morning was fairly normal. A quick shower, putting on his school uniform, breakfast, teeth-brushing, and packing his bag for the trip. He lived in a fairly ordinary (if not fairly spacious) Tokyo apartment, on the 6th floor, though the rent was fairly cheap, which was fortunate for him, as he found it hard at times to find a part-time job and actually keep it.

When he got to the ground floor, however, he discovered an unusual sight waiting for him. The orange-haired girl he found waiting right outside, he recognised immediately – she didn't wait for him like this, usually. "Mina!"

"Hi, Soma-kun!" Mina smiled, walking up to him as he came out the front door. "I just wanted to make sure you weren't gonna be late. Don't you wanna see the demonstration?"

"Yeah, I do, it's just..." He noticed that his letterbox had something in it. He opened it up, finding a small package addressed to him. "I don't know. I guess I'm just not that excited."

"Well, you will be when you see the robots! I've seen them on TV, they're amazing!" Mina grinned, as she watched Soma examine the package. "Hey, who is that from?"

"It's... It's from Arikado-san." Soma blinked, as he tore open the package. Inside, was a blue pendant, and a note. He didn't hesitate to read the note. _"Soma – This pendant is vital to the safety of you and Mina. If either of you are in danger, do not hesitate to break it. You will know what to do afterwards. - sincerely, Genya Arikado."_

"Huh. He says I'm supposed to break the pendant if either of us is in danger." Soma repeated the message, which resulted in a raised eyebrow from Mina. "That's nice of him, but, how can breaking a pendant help? And why would we be in danger? I know your Power of Dominance doesn't work if you don't need it and you lose those souls and all, but everyone who could endanger either of us are dead."

"I don't know. Let's just get going." Soma shrugged, as he put the pendant around his neck.

* * *

The school's hall was filled to the brim with chairs, well, everywhere but the stage, and the stage itself was set up to accommodate the display. The curtains were closed, and old two men were pacing around on-stage, trying to get things set-up properly. After all, it was just about to start. Soma and Mina managed to secure themselves a couple of seats fairly close to the front. Mina was giddy with excitement, Soma less so, but he was more excited than he was in the morning.

When everything was set, both of the old men came up on stage. They both wore lab coats. The first one resembled Santa Claus, mainly because of the white, fluffy facial hair and beard, and the seemingly cheerful disposition he had. The other resembled Albert Einstein, except with a larger and unique moustache, and grey hair that extended off from the sides, which left the top of his head bald. He also had a large chin. The first scientist took out a microphone, smiling. "Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen! I am Doctor Thomas Light, head of Light Labs. This is my partner, Doctor Albert Wily."

Wily nodded, taking out his own microphone. He didn't seem nearly as cheerful as Light was. "It is a pleasure to be here."

Light's smile widened, as he continued, "We are pleased to demonstrate our latest models of the Robot Master series of robots, what I hope will be the future of robotics for years to come. We will also be giving a lecture on robotics and the theories we developed that were crucial to the making of these robots. So, behold, the Robot Master series!"

The two men stepped aside, as the curtain opened, to show ten figures standing behind it. Mina was ecstatic. "It's them!"

Soma couldn't believe his eyes. Almost all of these figures could pass for humans wearing elaborate costumes, and two of them looked like almost perfectly normal human beings, with normal clothes, to boot! His eyes wandered across each one of them, as Dr. Wily listed each of them in order. "Cut Man, Guts Man, Elec Man, Ice Man, Fire Man, Bomb Man, Oil Man, Time Man, our industrial models, designed for specific tasks, from logging to demolition. And lastly, the two more 'personal assistant' models Light and I designed, Rock and Roll, whose resemblance to normal humans is uncanny!"

The brown-haired robot with a blue shirt and shorts, identified as Rock, was handed the microphone by Light, and he eagerly waved. "Hey, everybody! It's great to meet you all!" His blonde 'sister' with a red dress, Roll, promptly stole the mic. "Kept ya waiting, huh?"

An amused Light took the microphone back. Soma was flabbergasted. He thought nothing would surprise him after fighting countless demons, including the grim reaper itself. Yet, here he was, finding himself fascinated and awed by this display. The industrial robots were impressive enough, but Rock and Roll could be mistaken for ordinary children. Dr. Light spoke up. "Who wants to come up on stage and have the privilege of getting up-close with our creations? Maybe it's... YOU!"

Soma lost all breath at that moment. Dr. Light was pointing at him. "You, with the white hair! And the beautiful young lass beside you! Please, come on up!"

Mina looked like she was going to faint due to sheer excitement. She immediately pushed Soma out of his chair. "Come on, come on, this is an opportunity of a lifetime! What are we waiting for?!"

"Geez, Mina, stop pushing...!" Soma tried to catch his breath, as he stumbled on up towards the stage, managing to recover his balance as he proceeded up the stairs, Mina following closely behind him. Soma found himself standing in front of Dr. Light, which would've made him nervous without the robots nearby. This man was a genius, and to meet him in person was an honour. "Now, what would your name be, young man?"

"S-Soma. Soma Cruz. And this is Mina Hakuba." Soma tried to calm himself, but he couldn't help but feel nervous. Nobody could blame him. Dr. Light raised an eyebrow as he spoke the name 'Hakuba'. "Oh? So this is the daughter of the Hakuba family, who owns the famous Shinto shrine? It's a pleasure."

Mina giggled. "No, the pleasure's all mine, Light-sama."

"Anyway. Come, meet my 'family'. I honestly think of them as my children, no doubt Wily-san feels the same way." Light looked at Wily momentarily, as he showed the pair over to the robot masters, whom were curious about said pair. Rock walked up to Soma, extending his hand. "Nice to meet you, Soma-kun!"

Soma smiled nervously, as he shook hands with Rock. The synthetic skin and its touch surprised him. It was almost life-like. "Likewise, Rock-kun. Wow... I just take one look at you, and I'm amazed that you're a robot, and not just some kid!"

Rock laughed. "Yeah, I get that reaction a lot. I was made to be a lab assistant." Soma noticed Mina talking with Roll. Mina found Roll absolutely adorable, and the pair had a surprising amount of things to talk about. Then he heard a loud footstep. "Hey."

He looked in the direction of the sound, to find himself being stared down by the largest robot master, Guts Man. This nearly freaked him out. "O-Oh, hi...!"

"Hey, don't be scared by Guts Man's size, he's as friendly as the rest of us!" Next to the hulking robot, was the red robot with the scissors on his head, Cut Man. "Heya, Soma-kun. I'm Cut Man!"

"Oh, don't bother with them. I'm the most important one here, you know." The robot with the lightning-bolt mask stepped over, smirking. "I am Elec Man, lightning god!" It didn't take much for Soma to figure out how arrogant Elec Man was. "Hello. I guess I'll take your word for it..."

"Think fast!"

Soma noticed something out of the corner of his eye, and he ducked quickly. A clock hand made of plasma went over his head, held by Time Man. "Hmm. Exactly 0.432567898433677 seconds to react. Impressive. It seems we're ahead on schedule."

Soma blinked, as Dr. Wily walked up, scolding Time Man, "I know you're programmed not to harm humans, but please, don't scare the boy!"

"My apologies, doctor." The hand disappeared, as Time Man stepped back. "It was simply an experiment. All things are governed by time. You have earned my respect, Soma-san. That kind of reaction time is far beyond average."

Soma stood up, finding Time Man's speech and personality strangely familiar. If only he knew what he'd been through to develop that kind of reaction timing. Oil Man pushed him aside. "Yo, Soma-kun! I'm Oil Man, for all your oil needs!" Soma found this robot strange, but friendly. He reminded himself never to use a fire-based soul around him.

Then a bomb rolled up beside Soma, freaking him out... Until he realised it wasn't lit. Bomb Man scooped it up. "Whoops! My bad. Still, it's a little boring without fireworks, eh? I'm Bomb Man. If you need an explosion, I'm your man."

"Uh... Okay." Soma gulped, deciding not to think about it too much. Immediately, he felt something on his back. It seemed Ice Man was giving him a piggy-back right. "On your knees, soldier! Give me twenty push-ups, on the double!" Suddenly, he hopped off. "Uh... If you want to."

"Eh, Ice Man's got a split personality disorder, you see." Soma turned around, to see Fire Man, who had his flame turned off. "On one hand, he's a soldier, the other, a commander. Crazy, huh? Not like me! I'm fine as a fiddle, and with flames of JUSTICE!"

"Don't mind him, Soma-kun." Soma noticed Roll, tugging at his uniform. He had to admit, she was awfully cute. A lot like Mina. They looked each other in the eyes, as Roll noted, "Your eyes are unusual. You carry a huge burden, don't you?"

"Uh... Yeah, I guess you could say that." Soma replied. Roll smiled. "You don't have to bear the weight alone, you know. You've got Mina-chan, right?"

"Y-Yeah... But she's just a friend, that's all!"

Roll rolled her eyes, chuckling. She obviously knew otherwise. Dr. Light came up, smiling. "Alright, that's enough. We're still running on a schedule, after all."

Soma and Mina went off the stage. Soma felt disappointed. Not with the experience itself, but the fact that it had to end.

The rest of the day was spent through more demonstrations, and the lecture, which Soma somehow managed to get into rather well, his time up on stage had been inspiring. When it all came to a close, and everyone were making their way out of the hall, Soma looked back, to see Rock waving to him. He could only smile at that. Even after the last two years, this experience was, well, special. At least they weren't trying to kill him.

When school was out that day, Soma and Mina parted ways to head home. Mina had loved it, and that made Soma happy, too. As he walked home, Soma took a look at the pendant Arikado had sent him. The thought of needing to break it seemed more and more unlikely. It's like the world never needed a Dark Lord for God to be pure, and that things would only get better from there.

Oh, how wrong he was.

_To be Continued_


	2. Chapter 2: The First Attack

**Chapter 2: The First Attack**

That was only a week ago. The week after the demonstration was hectic in the academic world. Dr. Wily had been expelled from the ministry of science for what was reportedly for disregarding ethics, and was forced to resign from his position at LightLabs. Soma could see the consequences – his peers were talking about it for at least a few days. There was a massive controversy over this, however, Dr. Light's reputation was not in question. However, by the end of the week, people were beginning to move on from it. Soma was thinking about other things.

In the days that had followed from the demonstration, Soma missed interacting with the robots he had met, and he knew that it was more than likely that he'd never meet them again. But he also began to wonder about his future. He didn't want to dwell on the fact that he was Dracula's reincarnation for the rest of his life. He wondered if he could help humanity in some way, like Dr. Light – maybe, just maybe, it would be the day that he'd truly turn his back on his past life's sins, and redeem his soul. He knew he was thinking a bit too much into things, but...

It was morning on Friday. It seemed like an ordinary school morning for Soma, as he sat down in class. He propped his head against his right arm, figuring that he'd get into the lesson sooner or later. Mina sat nearly, a lot more focused than he was.

Then, what focus everyone had was washed away by the sound of an explosion.

Soma's eyes widened, as he jolted into sitting upwards at the sound and shock wave of the explosion. 'Unexpected' was an understatement. The other students were equally shocked and confused as he was, as the teacher urged them to stay calm. Mina looked towards Soma, with a frown that spoke many words - "What's happening, Soma?"

Soma couldn't speak. He didn't know why. He didn't know if it was fear, confusion, or shock, or even all three. But it quickly became clear as a strange voice burst out over the school's PA system.

"Good morning, students! This is Doctor Wily, and I have taken your school hostage! You have gained the honour of becoming among first to be conquered by me. I will move from here, to conquer the world with my robots! Now, I order all of you to, in an orderly manner, come down to the hall. Don't even try and escape. My robots will escort you."

To say that everyone was terrified was understandable. Even Soma was scared. Without a weapon or souls to fight with, he couldn't take on any robots. The door opened, revealing a Sniper Joe model, holding a shield in one hand, its other hand formed into an arm cannon. Everyone was forced to stand up, and move out of the classroom. Soma stayed close to Mina, whom was understandably terrified. "Soma..."

"Don't worry. I'll protect you. Once I figure something out..."

The hall was crowded, by both students and staff. Some stood, some sat. They were surrounded by various robot models, all blatantly modified in some way for combat. On the stage, stood Dr. Wily himself, grinning from ear to ear at his handiwork. Next to him, stood Cut Man, who seemed dead serious. Soma was surprised to see him there, but knew the horrible truth that robots could be re-programmed. The Cut Man he met a week ago was likely not the same person he could see now. Cut Man somehow spotted Soma in the crowd, trying to comfort Mina. He frowned, tugging on Wily's coat. "D-Dr. Wily sir... Isn't that...?"

"Oh...?" Wily noticed this as well, but his grin didn't fade. "Look who it is. How perfect. Robots! Bring those two outside with me! I want to make an example of them."

One of the Sniper Joes grabbed Soma, pulling Mina and him along outside the hall. Wily accompanied them outside, with a smug grin on his face.

WHAM.

Soma fell to the ground, from a sharp punch to the face delivered by Wily himself. Mina was restrained by two Joes. They were not far from the hall, on the edge of the school oval. "I'd rather not upset Cut Man by doing this in full view of everyone. So showing you badly hurt will be enough to demonstrate my absolute power."

"Stop it! Why are you doing this?!" Mina pleaded to the madman, whom simply turned his head towards her. "Oh, you want to know WHY? Oh, I'll tell you WHY. Maybe you can ask Dr. Light. He's the one stealing all the attention away from me, the fame, the recognition, I deserve it! But NO. Dr. Light gets the fame, the recognition, the company, and the Nobel Prize? And I just play second fiddle. I will not accept that. The world will see my genius, even if I have to conquer it to do so!"

"That... That's just petty." Soma was quick to get up, scowling at Wily. "Light was your friend, your colleague, you two could've resolved-"

WHAM.

Soma fell to his knees, thanks to a sharp punch to the gut. Wily looked somewhat old, but even he had strength. "You DARE question me, Mr. Cruz? I'll show you the price for defiance."

Wily walked over towards Mina, smirking, placing a hand on her disgusted face. "What would happen if I were to do something to your girlfriend here? I do admit, you've hit the jackpot. She's a beautiful young woman. I wouldn't min-"

"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HER!"

Soma stood up immediately, tearing the pendant off his neck. Wily was bemused. "Oh? And you think a pendant will stop me?"

"You wouldn't think so, would you?" Soma chuckled. "Stranger things have happened!" He threw the pendant to the ground, which shattered it. He just hoped Arikado was right.

However, he wasn't expecting several souls to burst out of the pendant, and rush into him. Soma screamed momentarily, surprising Wily, who had no idea what was going on, and Mina, who could somehow see the souls, but didn't expect them either. "Soma..."

Soma closed his eyes, examining the souls that he had gained. These souls were different than any other monster soul he had encountered. Even with his Power of Dominance, he encountered at least a little resistance from monster souls. This was why he couldn't gain a soul every time he killed a monster. But this time, the souls seemed to accept his dominance completely. He examined each soul in order – Skeleton, Axe Armor, Skull Archer, Armor Knight, Golem, and Skeleton Ape, two souls of each type. More than enough to work with even without a weapon.

Wily was shocked when he saw, in front of his eyes, Soma summon a spear out of nowhere, and physically take down two Sniper Joes with it. He snapped to the others, "Take him down. NOW!"

The other two Joes opted for non-lethal tactics, trying to outflank and disarm him, but Soma summoned a bow and arrow in mid-air to strike down one of them, using the spear to quickly take down the other. Soma was thankful that these 'weapons' were magic-based, so he was able to put more power behind them to make them effective against robots. Though, it was more of a strain on him as a result. Wily was freaking out, moving away from Soma as more Joes appeared on the scene, but due to the First Law, they were incapable of using their weapons against him. Soma yelled to Mina, "Get out of here, Mina! If you can, get everyone else out!"

Mina nodded, dashing back into the hall, as Soma continued to fight, getting a hang of using these souls. It became less tiring as he continued to fight. A spear to the head here, another decapitated by a thrown axe, a few more pierced by arrows. Any attempt to bring him down was thwarted quickly as Soma used arrows to prevent the Joes from pinning him down. He could keep this up for a while.

Well, until the spear was broken by a giant pair of scissors.

The suddenly lapse in concentration allowed the Joes to grab him and prevent him from moving. Though he could take them down with more arrows, there was now another problem. Cut Man was standing next to Wily, catching the scissors he had thrown. Despite the threat against him being supposedly subdued, Wily was terrified. "What is he...?"

"Soma-kun, I don't want to hurt you! What Dr. Wily is doing is..." Cut Man tried to urge Soma, but Wily interrupted. "Destroy him."

"WHAT?! I can't do that, you know that! He's human!" Cut Man objected. Wily shook his head, with a frown. "No human could do what he was doing! Now I know what he is! He's a combat robot made by Light behind my back! So, I want you to-"

Before he could give his order, the Joes holding down Soma were blasted by an energy weapon, and a few more shots hit the ground near Wily and Cut Man to cut them off. Soma blinked, as a robot in blue armour landed next to him. "Soma-san, are you alright?"

The voice was familiar to Soma. As he was about to reply, familiar images entered his head, as he recognised the boy robot's face, as he whispered, "Rock...!?"

Rock smiled, nodding, as he formed an arm cannon on his right arm, pointing it at Cut Man and Wily. "I am Mega Man, defender of justice! Cut Man, I don't want to hurt you, but if I must..."

Wily roared, "So Light DID make a combat robot! Joes, Cut Man, destroy them both!"

Soma summoned another spear, throwing it to take out another Joe, as Mega Man began to fire his buster, felling the entire wave with ease. The Joes didn't last long. Cut Man, on the other hand, tossed his Rolling Cutter, as Wily made his exit, but Soma deflected it with an axe, giving Mega Man the opportunity to nail him with a few shots. Cut Man was knocked back, but far from out for the count. "So you're evil robots... Then I have no choice!"

He increased the size of the Rolling Cutter so it was at least Mega Man's size, and tossed it. Mega Man jumped over it, and Soma managed to run to the side to avoid it, throwing an axe that managed to hit its target. When Cut Man caught the cutter and tried to put it back on his head, it occurred to him that, perhaps, that the axe was in a rather inconvenient place – lodged on the top of his head. The shock was enough to give Soma and Mega Man the opportunity to attack, Soma using arrows to pierce, and Mega Man taking him down with plasma shots. As Cut Man deactivated, something flew out of him, and into Soma, something Mega Man didn't see, but Soma did, thinking to himself, _Did... Did I just claim dominance on a robot's soul?_

"_Soma-san... What's going on?!"_

Soma could hear Cut Man's voice in his head. _"Uh... I think your soul is in my body."_

"_Wait, I have... A soul? That's kinda cool." _Then, Wily appeared, in a blue, flying saucer-type vehicle, waving his fist in anger. "So you beat my first Robot Master? Fine. The others will deal with you soon enough! Just wait and see!" He began to cackle evilly as he flew away, and Mega Man sighed in relief. Soma assured Cut Man, _"Trust me, I'll explain things soon enough."_

"Soma-kun?" Soma blinked, as he looked at Mega Man, whom outstretched his hand, smiling. For some reason, his armour had changed colour to grey and white. "Thank you. I don't know how you can fight like that, but, we managed to avoid destroying Cut Man's body, so Dr. Light can repair him. Thanks!"

Soma smiled, taking his hand and shaking firmly. "I kinda had to, for Mina's sake. Look, you'd probably wouldn't believe me if I-"

"Soma, there is no need to hide your secrets from him." Another figure walked onto the scene. It was Genya Arikado, that pale-skinned man with the black hair and the black suit, strangely beautiful yet seemed so cold at the same time. He looked at Mega Man, and introduced himself. "Genya Arikado, agent of the Japanese government. I will sort things out here. Take Soma to Dr. Light. I will accompany you shortly."

* * *

Though it took longer than either of them would've liked, Soma and Mega Man arrived at the home of Dr. Light, a surprisingly humble abode on the edge of Tokyo, away from the hustle and bustle of urban life. Soma was surprised that a man like Dr. Light would prefer a location like this, but he was an old man, he supposed. He wouldn't be surprised if Julius lived somewhere like this. As Mega Man lead him across the front yard and to the door, he took off his helmet, revealing the hair of the robot boy that Soma had first befriended.

Rock knocked on the door. Seconds later, Roll opened it, surprised to see them both. "Rock, could you at least call before you come back on foot? And... Huh? Soma-kun? Come in!"

They were lead in by a smiling Roll. The inside of the house didn't seem at all like the home of a technological genius. If anything, it was a bit old-fashioned in places. A short entrance hall with a patterned carpet lead into the living room, where Dr. Light was having a cup of tea, and noticed them immediately. "Oh, Rock, welcome home. Soma-kun, make yourself at home, by all means."

Then Soma noticed that two other people were sitting near Dr. Light. Mina and Arikado were there as well. Mina smiled. "Soma-kun! Thank goodness you're okay."

"I have already explained what happened to Dr. Light." Arikado noted. Rock blinked. "Wait, how did you get here first?"

"I have my methods."

Soma sat down on an opposite couch, leaning forward. Roll brought him some tea, which he politely accepted, and took a sip. It seems Roll knew how to make some very good tea, as Soma concluded from a mere taste. Dr. Light smiled, and then asked, "Soma-kun, I am curious as to how you we able to fight Wily's robots like that. Also, I apologize. If I knew Wily had felt that way, I would've tried to steer him off that path. It seems I didn't know him as well as I thought."

"No, no, it's not your fault, Light-sama." Soma replied, as Rock took a seat. "Look, my powers from earlier... It's something called the 'Power of Dominance'. It's the ability to gain command over the souls of monsters. Until two years ago, I wasn't even aware of it. It may seem crazy, but I'm the reincarnation of Dracula."

Now this, was surprising to Dr. Light and his two 'children'. But Dr. Light urged, "Please, go on."

"Allow me to interject." Arikado insisted. "Dracula was indeed real. Every 100 years or less, he has risen again and again to try and destroy humanity with his army of darkness. Every time, the Belmont Family, or someone else, rose to challenge and defeat him. In 1999, he was destroyed for good, as his castle was sealed in a solar eclipse. Or so believed."

"Belmont... 1999...?" Dr. Light rubbed his forehead, as if remembering something. "Dr. Light, is something wrong?" Rock asked, but he smiled. "No, no, it's fine."

"My family performed the sealing ritual." Mina noted.

"You know the solar eclipse that occurred in 2035? The castle appeared again in the eclipse. Soma, Mina and several others including me were there at the time, and we were summoned to the castle. Soma was forced to awaken his Power of Dominance and learned his identity, but also learned that the darkness could well make him the Dark Lord once again. So, I guided him to defeat the darkness inside. There was also another incident last year involving a cult intent on bringing in a new Dark Lord, but that need not be mentioned." Arikado explained.

Dr. Light sat back, and noted, "Soma-kun, I will not judge you by the dark powers you hold, nor your past life. From your actions alone, I know that you are a responsible young man who is willing to put his life on the line for others. I do not condone violence, but I accept that sometimes it is necessary. But knowing that you could have become worse than Wily, but evaded that path, I can fully trust you."

"_Whoa, you're DRACULA?! That's pretty creepy, but if Dr. Light trusts you, then, so will I." _Cut Man noted in Soma's head. "Oh, yeah. By the way... I think I absorbed Cut Man's 'soul' back there."

Dr. Light suddenly smiled. And then burst into tears. But not of sadness, but of pure joy. "Thank you. If that is true, then I suppose I can more more satisfied, in how I've managed to create robots with souls. That... Is amazing. But..." He wiped away the tears. "This is going to be a bit of a problem. I've managed to repair Cut Man's body, but without the soul, it won't work. Can you release him?"

"Oh, I don't think that will be a problem."

Everyone looked towards the front door, as Roll lead three more visitors inside. A man in his fifties with brown hair, a moustache and a small beard, a woman with blonde hair and a sexy red outfit, and an African-American man wearing what appeared to be a military uniform. Soma smiled. "Julius! Yoko! Hammer! What are you guys doing here?"

Julius chuckled. "Arikado called. I suppose you could use the help." Then he looked at Dr. Light. "Long time no see, Thomas."

Dr. Light put down his tea, looking shocked and amazed. "J-Julius?! Is that you?! I haven't seen you in nearly forty years! 1999... You were the one who fought Dracula that year, weren't you?"

"I'm sorry I never got the chance to tell you. After I defeated Dracula, I lost my memory, until 2035. I've been working with the Catholic Church since then." Julius sighed, as he took a seat next to his old friend. Mina, meanwhile, went over to greet Yoko, and Hammer just looked around. Dr. Light smiled. "I knew what you were doing when you left for Europe was of international security. You were given a military escort, for pete's sake. But to save the world..."

"Yes, it is hard to believe, isn't it?" Julius smiled, as he looked over at Yoko and Hammer. "Oh, yes. Thomas, these are Yoko Belnades and Hammer. Yoko is, well, a relative of mine, so to speak. She's a witch working for the church. Hammer is, well, a merchant. He used to be in the US military."

Yoko smiled, as she bowed her head upon being mentioned. "Hello, Light-san. It is an honour to meet you."

Hammer chuckled, looking at Light. "Oh, hey! I really love your work, doc, it's amazing!"

"Why, thank you." Dr. Light smiled, as he got to his feet. Yoko noted, "If you need a soul released, I can help with that."

"Of course. I will have Cut Man's body repaired very soon." Light nodded, as he left the room, leaving everyone to their own devices. Soma sighed. "Great. And to think I have to use my Power of Dominance again."

"For what it's worth, Soma, I believe you will like this particular bit of good news." Arikado leaned forward. "The souls in that pendant I gave you are completely subservient towards you. Normally, monster souls give you at least a bit of resistance, unlike these ones. When you do not need your powers after a crisis, normally such souls are released, but this time, whenever you don't need the Power of Dominance, these souls will stay with you. Well, until death. As well, these "tamed" souls are easier to use than other ones."

"Well, that's interesting." Soma replied, summoning a spear in his hand, and examining it. It was indeed easier than before, less stress on his mind and body. Rock grinned. "Amazing! We'll be an awesome team! Magic and technology together, we'll be unstoppable!"

"And if something goes wrong, you have us as backup." Hammer remarked, walking over to everyone else. "Just don't get yourself killed fighting Wily, okay, Soma?"

"Hey, you don't have to worry about me." Soma smiled, but then his expression changed back. "I hope..."

* * *

"Right. That should be it."

Yoko had managed to finish the soul release process, releasing Cut Man's soul out of Soma's body. Soma groaned a bit as the soul was released, the process was always a bit painful for him. They were in Light's personal laboratory, where Cut Man's repaired body was waiting, and the soul flew into it, causing the body to activate automatically. Cut Man blinked, and checked that he was in perfect working order. "I... I'm back!"

Soma made a sigh of relief, as Roll hugged her brother, and Rock stood near, smiling. One down, five more to go.

* * *

"Curses! Light has two combat robots prepared to fight me! One is bad enough, but two?!"

Dr. Wily slammed his fists on the front of a supercomputer terminal in his hidden fortress. His Robot Masters were not designed for combat, by any means. On the other hand, Mega Man and Soma (or so he believed) we combat machines, designed with the very purpose of destruction. All things considered, the both of them could lay waste to his army – his Robot Masters were separated in multiple areas, and were likely incapable of surviving a two-on-one encounter. "I need to figure out how to destroy them both!"

"My good doctor, giving up already?"

Wily looked up at the screen in front of him, which was filled with static, except for what appeared to be a human face, or at least something that resembled it. Its speech was clearly male, but heavily digitised to the point where it was unrecognisable. His eyebrows lowered in suspicion. "Wha... Who are you?"

"You could call me a lost soul. At this time, I am powerless. But we can work together. I can provide you the tools needed to destroy both of your enemies. In exchange, I only request one simple thing."

"And what would that be?"

"A body."

**To Be Continued**

* * *

_**Author's Notes: **_I confess this chapter wasn't nearly as long as I would've liked, but, oh well. To be frank, when I complete the story of the first game, I'm considering expanding on to the rest of the Classic series, and then possibly to other Mega Man series, such as X and Zero, though I'm not gonna say how. ;D


End file.
